


Twelve Days of Christmas

by LydiaLannister



Series: Twelve Days of Christmas [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21644230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LydiaLannister/pseuds/LydiaLannister
Summary: Sort of in the same spirit of my Inktober, where I'll be using Pinterest images and one word prompts to write stories for the twelve days of Christmas (the stories may or may not be Christmas/Holiday themed depending on the prompt and how I feel when I write them).  Hope you enjoy them and leave a comment if you like!https://www.pinterest.com/stargazinnginthedark/writing/12-days-of-christmas/
Series: Twelve Days of Christmas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560334
Collections: Twelve Days Christmas Challenge





	1. Partridge

Angelica was a nice girl, had been since the day she was born, or so her mother had told her up until a year ago. A year ago, on Christmas day, Angelica’s mother had died. And ever since then things had been different. And no one told her she was a nice girl anymore.

“You gonna come downstairs and at least pretend to be happy for the rest of us, Angie?” That was Angelica’s older sister, Nena. She’d welcomed her baby sister into her house gladly after the funeral and Angelica couldn’t find it in herself to leave, so a week had turned into a month had turned into a year. And Angelica was still there, with no intention of leaving anytime soon much to the chagrin of Nena’s husband, Cassidy. Her nieces loved her though. They seemed to be the only ones that Angelica could stand these days, when everyone else’s grating voices telling her to do something with her life got on her nerves and she felt like screaming till the sky came crashing down. Yeah, her nieces always found a way to wash her scowl away, even if it was for just a split second.

“Angie, at least answer me. The girls say they won’t open the presents with out you. Angie!” Nena shouted again from the stairs. The cold Christmas morning light sliced neatly through Angelica’s room, making it impossible -on top of Nena’s shouting- to fall back asleep. Mustering what strength she could find on this god awful day, Angelica rose from the bed and pulled on some proper pants and a shirt. Tying her hair up with a cloth one of the girls had dyed at school, she finally blinked her tired eyes open and began to make for the stairs.

Nena was about to shout again when Angelica crested the top of the stairs and began her descent towards the kitchen and the mug of coffee she was going to make for her self-three shots of espresso, one shot of creamer, no sugar. Nena smiled, glad that her sister had dragged herself out of bed, even if it was just for the girls. Angie’s older sister knew what this day meant, how much it hurt the both of them, but she also knew that it was Christmas and that maybe with the girls’ help they could start to pull Angie back together. A year of this mopey mourning seemed like more than enough to Nena and she only wanted for her sister to start seeing the world again, the world she was missing.

“Auntie ‘Gelica! Auntie ‘Gelica! Guess who came last night?! Guess! Guess!” Her younger niece, Jackie, was bouncing up and down in a pair of fleecy pajamas with polar bears all over them that Angelica hadn’t seen before-probably one of her stocking stuffers. 

“Hmmm, I don’t know…I’ll have to think about this one. Was it…maybe…Santa Claus!” Angelica matched her niece’s excitement perfectly, joining her in her exuberant jumping up and down as her other niece, 10 year old Mikaela, came around the corner with a mug of steaming hot cocoa.

“Angelica! You’re here, finally. Now we can open presents!” Mikaela was going through a phase where she refused to use titles like Auntie or Mama or Papa, if she was going to address someone it was by their first name or -in particularly prestigious cases like her science teacher’s- Mr. or Ms. So-and-so. Angelica laughed a little and ran a gentle hand through Mikaela’s bouncy curls before maneuvering around her to get her own steaming drink.

Cassidy was in the kitchen standing over a pot of porridge, watching it carefully so as to not let it boil over, and occasionally adding some more spices as needed. He gave a nod that could have almost come across as friendly and then went back to his stirring. Angelica easily brushed past him and to the coffee machine, adamantly ignoring him. The two of them didn’t exactly see eye to eye when it came to the girls and there would always be some part of Angelica that would see him as an outsider to her family, so as a courtesy to her sister she chose to ignore him this morning. 

“So, you finally decided to come down. The girls have been waiting for you to come down for the past hour and a half, just so you could be there to open presents, you know.” Apparently, Cassidy had decided that today was the day to strike up a friendly conversation that Angelica was not even remotely in the mood for. She didn’t mind the girls’ cheeriness, they didn’t really understand after all what this day meant to Angelica, but Cassidy was a grown-up. He knew. And he should have known to keep his mouth shut, to just let her ignore him. Instead, he had decided to poke the bear and it didn’t particularly matter to Angelica that he meant well.

“What’s it to you if I wanted to sleep in a little longer? They could have unwrapped them without me,” she kept her answer civil, hoping that he would shut his mouth if she gave him an answer. It wasn’t like she wanted to ruin this Christmas, she loved Nena and Jackie and Mikaela, but Cassidy was just rubbing her the wrong way this morning.

“You’re living in this house for free, thanks to your sister. The least you could do is help out a little around the house, not just let the rest of us do the work while you stay in that room of yours all day.” Angelica nearly dropped the mug she was holding. She had known how Cassidy felt about the whole situation, but she had never expected any of it to be said, especially not today.

“Maybe if my mother hadn’t died, I wouldn’t be here.” She didn’t shout, not yet, not with the girls so close. Cassidy turned.

“If you got a job, then you wouldn’t have to be here. You’re twenty-six years old, Angelica. Yeah, your mother died and that sucks, but you can’t just keep free-lancing it at our place. We can’t afford this, okay. Especially not if we’re gonna send Mikaela to that special school downtown and Jackie to the nice preschool, the one where there isn’t a drug dealer on the street corner. And Nena would never tell you any of this, because she loves you. Too damn much for her own good. Angelica, you just aren’t good for this family.” 

Angelica’s eyes burned. Something deep inside her-something she’d been clinging to since her mother’s death-finally splintered. _Who was this man to tell her whether she was good for this family or not? Who was he to tell her what she should do? Who was this person telling her that she didn’t deserve her sister’s love? Or the girls?_

“You’re right. I’ll go. Have a nice Christmas.” And then she walked out the door, without a jacket or a hat, and left. She couldn’t keep on living like this, free-lancing it at her older sister’s place. Cassidy was right. And that hurt her more than leaving her sweet girls, Jackie and Mikaela. It hurt her more than her mother’s death. 

As she walked in the chilly Chicago air, she thought about her mother and how she had always said what a nice girl Angelica had been. She wanted nothing more than to hear her momma say that again, but for now she figured she’d settle on hearing it from her sister, her nieces and maybe someday Cassidy. So, she thought to herself as she shivered her way to the bus stop, she’d find a job, get her own place and volunteer at the goddamn animal shelter on the weekends. She’d do whatever it took to be good again in the eyes of her family. 

The bus came with a spray of icy slush to the curb and Angelica got on without looking back down the little residential street to the brown house with lights strung on the porch railing, lovingly cut snowflakes in the window and the partridge that Jackie had made at school sitting in the small tree in the frozen yard. 

It was Christmas after all. And Angelica hated it, but maybe she wouldn’t next year. Or so she hoped, because that was all she had left. 


	2. Doves

Graveyards had never made much sense to her. Dead people didn’t care whether they were buried in a nice wooden casket or left to compost among the worms and she certainly didn’t need anymore reminders that her family was dead. And yet, here she was. Kneeling before a grave with a single white blossom in her hand.

_Fifteen years ago…_

_Lights were glowing on the river, little fireflies illuminating the floating city as it made its way peacefully along the gentle current. From the shore, a sound of singing could be heard. People were dancing through the streets to the beats of ancient drums and their merry-making filled the air with laughter. It was like a scene from a storybook._

_Every year, Inga’s family would watch the city on its way to the sea. The first two years she had been too small to remember, bundled up in furs and tucked into her mother’s breasts. But this year she stood on the riverbank filled with awe and wonder at the incredible sight before her. Her mother stood behind her, a warm hand on Inga’s little shoulder and the other wrapped around her husband. He, in turn, held Inga’s older brother in his arms, while their oldest daughter and son sat at their feet. Behind them smoke rose from their small hut, rising up to the sky where the stars blazed._

_Ten years ago…_

_Her mother was screaming something that Inga couldn’t hear over the blood rushing in her own ears. The hut was burning, the smoke that rose was wild and uncontrolled. The sounds of metal on metal coming from behind her terrified her, so she ran to her bed. Slipping under it, she pressed her hands over her ears, hoping that the wooden frame and straw mattress would protect her. In the distance her mother’s screaming cut off. The metal clanging had faded too. Inga could only hear the crackling of the flames burning the walls around her, she was still too terrified to run from the safety of her bed._

_“Inga! Inga! Where are you?!” her older sister’s cries barely pierced through the smoky haze that she was trapped in. Something above her cracked, a beam, she thought dimly. It crashed down on her bed and suddenly everything was too warm. The room was blazing, her skin was burning. She couldn’t bear the pain that engulfed her, so she finally found it in her to run._

_The river’s water was cool, but her face still burned, and the pain wasn’t getting any better. The current was getting stronger and suddenly she couldn’t keep herself above the water. She shouted for her sister, hoping that someone would save her._

_Five years ago…_

_Her sister lay wasting away, the sickness that had swept through the nearby village now coming to claim her too. Inga couldn’t bear to watch through her one good eye. She had seen the baker’s wife and the butcher’s son succumb to it. Had seen the seemingly endless body count piling up in the mass grave just beyond the main road. There was no cure, no treatment for this awful ailment that left its victims senseless and writhing in pain._

_Burying her sister did not hurt as much as it should have. Inga was used to this loss by now. First her mother, father, and older brother. Murdered by raiders looking for loot. Then her second brother. Swept away by the river. Last her sister. Taken by this plague. It did not matter how they died, not anymore. They all went in the same plot that her father had bought a few years after marrying Inga’s mother. The same roughly hewn stone glaring up at her scarred face, year after year. Inga was alone now._

The sound of two doves chirping in the tree, the one that sat in the northwest corner of the graveyard, snapped Inga out of her thoughts. Her cheek was wet, her good eye filled with tears. Someday there would be no one to visit this stupid grave. Someday Inga would die, and someone would bury her here, with the rest of the rotting corpses. Or maybe they would just take her coins and leave her body to rot on top of the ground, her face turned towards the sky and one eye filling with water while the other stayed firmly scarred shut. 

She could not bear staying at the wretched stone any longer. Turning, she rose and made her way decidedly through the rows of the dead. The blossom fell from her hand and sank into the dirt. Her last look was at the sky, where the stars were starting to wink into existence. And then she opened the creaky gate and left.

As she walked away from the cold burial ground, a small green bud began to poke its trembling head up through the hard packed dirt and into the night’s chilly air. Perhaps there was a purpose to graveyards after all… 


	3. French

“Get your ass into the car, Cass! Or else we’re gonna be late for the first day of school, and I don’t know about you, but I want to make a better impression this year.” Cassidy’s sister was shouting at her from the bottom of the stairs, a brush in one hand, her phone and the car keys in the other. Cassidy was still toweling off her hair and was standing half-dressed in the hall with a shirt between her knees. She didn’t really care if she was late, but her sister certainly did, and Cassidy knew that Liz would drive off without her if she didn’t “get her ass into the car”. Hightailing it down the stairs, she pulled the tank-top over her head and grabbed her bag where she had left it by the door. 

“Ok. I’m ready, let’s go!” Liz didn’t need much more than that to wrench her car door open, hop into the driver’s seat and start the engine. She was in such a hurry that she nearly pulled out of the driveway with Cass’s door still halfway open. 

“Jesus, Liz, would you at least try and go the speed limit? Being late because we got pulled over for ticket isn’t exactly gonna help you make that better impression and my breakfast’s gonna come back up if you take the next turn this fast,” Cassidy clung to the handle as Liz finally eased up on the pedal. The car slowed to a more manageable pace and Cassidy could finally take the breath that she had been holding since the start of the near death experience that was Liz’s driving. Liz took the next turn with a more relaxed spin of the wheel and after what felt like much longer than ten minutes ended with Liz pulling into a parking spot about a mile away from the front doors of their high school. _Junior year, here I come_ , thought Cassidy as she nearly banged the car door on the red convertible next to theirs.

“See you at 3:00?”

Liz was already halfway across the lot by the time that Cassidy had slammed her door shut, apparently, she really was serious about making it to Advisory on time. Cassidy didn’t necessarily want to be late, but she also wasn’t about to run in her heels. Breaking her neck on the stairs wasn’t exactly her idea of a great start to Junior year, so she walked briskly down the hall as the first bell rang. She’d be marked as tardy, and probably get detention, meaning she would miss Liz at three and have to either take the bus home or beg one of her friends for a ride even though none of them lived even remotely close to her. _Great._

She rolled her eyes as she walked into her advisory space-the bio classroom where all the freshies liked to hang before school-before Cass got there, that is. Luckily, they were already cleared out-possibly something to do with the fact that she was now two and a half minutes late and the rest of her advisory, including a new face, were staring at the door that she had just casual click-clacked her heeled feet through.

_New face? Huh, don’t remember getting an email about a new advisory member…_

“Cassidy, how nice to see you again. Still punctual as ever, well, you better be punctual to detention this afternoon or else you’ll be getting three more sessions.” Her advisor, a _lovely_ Ms. Hadley, was staring her down over a pair of new bright pink frames and tapping her clipboard with a shiny school issued pen. 

“Sorry, our car broke down.” Cassidy flashed her typical _I-could-care-less-I’m-Cassidy-Martins-who-do-you-think-you-are_ look, patented and everything, and sat down on one of the counters, crossing her smooth legs with a sassy ease. Ms. Hadley gave her a pinched look, ignored the comment, and scribbled something on her clipboard. The rest of the advisory was used to Cassidy’s constant spats with Ms. Hadley, but the new girl was more than a little shocked at how Cass was treating the teacher. Her mouth had fallen open in a little O-shape and her hand tightened around the bottom of her shirt-one that would never have been allowed anywhere near Cassidy’s immaculately curated closet. Then she did the unspeakable, she pulled her shock together and spoke up.

“Excuse me, but I’m pretty sure I saw you pull up this morning in a convertible that’s shinier than the apple on Ms. Hadley’s desk. And if I know anything about cars and the people that drive them, they typically don’t break down when their owner clearly cares enough to get it detailed like that.” 

_Well, this year was about to get one hell of a lot more interesting, or annoying. Yeah, this new girl was probably going to end up being one of the biggest pain-in-the-necks ever. Great._ Cassidy swished her red curls over on shoulder and adjusted the waistband of her shorts. Then she turned towards the new girl in the worn out t-shirt and said, “Fine, my car didn’t break down, like everyone in this room besides you didn’t already know that. But next time, mind your own damn business and don’t be a snitch.” 

The girl didn’t seem to take the hint, and she had clearly never met Cassidy Martin before, because she had the audacity to open her mouth again.

“I read the school code of conduct and I’m pretty sure that kind of treatment and language aren’t tolerated here, so maybe you should back your prissy rich self out that door and down to the principal’s office and reread them…if you even can read, that is.”

 _The fucking nerve on this girl!_ Cassidy was about to go full-scale ballistic prissy bitch on this new girl’s ass when Ms. Hadley finally decided to step in.

“Cassidy, Ava.”

_So, the new girl’s name was Ava. Not that it mattered to her, she would be spending the next year making her life hell, didn’t matter what her name was._

“I want to see you both after school, so we can work out your issues. Until then, I’d like you to behave yourselves and let the rest of the advisory get to this morning’s activity.”

“Fine. Whatever, Ms. H,” Cassidy just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, there was no way she was going to “work out her issues” with this Ava.

“Ms. Hadley, ma’am, I don’t understand why I need to come. I clearly didn’t do anything against the Community Guidelines or the Code of Conduct and this is obviously an attitude problem on…”

“Cassidy, Cassidy Martins.” Cassidy spat towards the speaking-far-too-formally-for-high-school Ava.

“Cassidy Martins part and I really don’t think it’s necessary that I attend this meeting.”

Ms. Hadley looked up from her clipboard, almost as disinterested in this conversation and new girl as Cassidy was and said, “Ms. Kade, I understand that you are used to a certain way of things being run, but this school is a little different from your last one in France. I’ll be expecting your presence this afternoon, 3:00 sharp.”

_France? Was Ava some sort of stick up her butt exchange student? And weren’t French people supposed to have a better sense of style?_

The bell rang and Cassidy exited the room quickly, making sure to shove Ava with her shoulder on her way out.

_Yeah, this year was going to a pure delight._

***

-stuck with Ms. Hadley this afternoon, don’t bother waiting for me

-you really in trouble this early in the year?

-sorry?

-have fun taking the bus :P

-*eye roll* see yah for dinner, if Ms. Hadley doesn’t finally bore me to death

-k, bye Cass

***

Ms. Hadley wasn’t even there when Cassidy made her way into the bio room, only a minute late. This was going to be a major waste of time on everyone’s part, especially if Ms. Hadley wasn’t even going to make an effort. Ava was already there, probably had been since the period had ended at 2:55.

“Sorry about this morning.”

Cassidy was not expecting those words, in fact she would have expected at least a dozen others before an apology.

“What I said wasn’t fair. I have no idea if you’re a rich snob and implying that you couldn’t read was clearly out of line. If you’ll allow me to introduce myself again?” Ava looked up at her from the table she was sitting on, her sneaker covered feet swinging back and forth almost nervously. Cassidy almost scoffed, there was no way someone could be sincere and mean something like that. And besides, it had been a sort of fair accusation-the prissy rich girl bit, not the part about a lack of the ability to read. 

“Sure, I guess. Whatever makes you feel better, Ava from France.” The half-heartedness in her reply didn’t seem to deter Ava at all and she steamrolled through a new introduction that came across much bubblier than their hostile encounter this morning.

“I’m Ava Kade, and I was an exchange student in France, not from. Born and raised here, actually. My dad owns the car shop down on 50th. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I’m glad to be back and that I hope we can be friends?” Ava flashed a pearly grin that made her nose scrunch up in an almost adorable way. Cassidy found herself actually incapable of eye-rolling the introduction and the hand that was now hanging eagerly out in front of Ava, a rare first in Cass’s case.

“Great. I’m Cassidy Martins, and I’m from here, been here my whole life. And actually, I think I’ve been to your dad’s shop before, got the wheels changed on the convertible. As for the whole friends thing…”

Of course, Ms. Hadley had to pick that moment to come in, clipboard swinging, and pink frames slipped nearly all the way to the tip of her nose.

“Well, girls, sorry I’m late, I just got out of a meeting with Mr. Hinden. Thanks for being patient and waiting though. Now, about this morning, do either of you have anything to say?”

“Yeah, actually, I think we’ll be getting along just fine now. Guess our differences sorted themselves out after lunch and we can go home now.” Cassidy made to swing off the counter that she had once again claimed with her shorts-clad bottom and strut out the door.

Ms. Hadley had other plans.

“Nuh-uh. Sit, Cassidy. I’d like to have you both properly apologize to each other and then you Ms. Martins are going to be restacking the library books for Ms. Orwell.”

_Great, so now she wasn’t going to be bored to death by Ms. Hadley, but instead choke slowly in the dusty library under the beady eye of the dreaded Ms. Orwell-who was actually a Mrs. but had taken on the Ms. after her late husband had passed._

Ava cheerily went first, although she had already apologized. Then Ms. Hadley and Ava both turned to look at Cassidy, waiting for her apology.

“I’m sorry, Ava. For going against the code of conduct…and for calling you a snitch. That wasn’t nice of me and I’ll try and…I dunno…be better next time?” It wasn’t that she didn’t feel bad for how she’d treated Ava, it was just that she didn’t like apologizing, didn’t feel like it made much sense, seeing as people lied and were insincere more often than not and went right back to being back-stabbing snakes after their apologies.

“Thank you, now you may both leave. Ms. Martins, I’ll be checking in with Ms. Orwell to make sure you completed your detention or else you’ll be helping her all of next week too.” With that, Ms. Hadley left the room, clipboard and pen in one hand, the other smoothing down her rumpled blouse.

“Do you want any help, you know, re-shelving?” Ava asked as she slid off the table and pulled her wild mane of dark curly hair back into a bun. “I’m at school anyways till my dad comes at 6:00, and I already finished all my homework…”

“Yeah, sure, why not? You’ll get to meet the infamous Ms. Orwell and I won’t have to face her alone,” Cassidy replied, genuinely glad for the offer. _Maybe she could be friends with Ava, if Ms. Orwell didn’t eat her alive first._

***

Ms. Orwell didn’t approve of tank tops, so Cassidy stopped by the bathroom first to change into a deep red top with shoulder cut outs, Ms. Orwell would probably fuss about those too, but it was her only other shirt. There was nothing to be done about the shorts, which were certainly too short for the 100 year-old librarian, but at least Ava was wearing some too. Solidarity and numbers were key when facing the dreaded old hag.

“So, is this Ms. Orwell really as bad as you keep making her out to be? Like maybe she’s just a nice old lady…”

 _Oh, the naivety of someone who had never experienced the atrocities of Ms. Orwell and her reign of terror in the library._ Cassidy would have laughed at Ava’s statement, but they were nearing the library and she didn’t want to risk being heard for fear of breaking the holy silence that was kept at all times in the library to appease Ms. Orwell.

Whispering as quietly as possible, Cassidy instructed Ava to let her do all the talking if it became necessary and that it was crucial that she kept the quiet at all costs. This time Ava rolled her eyes but swore she wouldn’t break the silence that hung like a blanket over Ms. Orwell’s territory.

“Ms. Martins, you came.” The raspy voice that came from Cassidy’s left nearly sent her careening into Ava out of shock. Ava, to her credit, contained herself to letting her mouth fall open into a little O-shape.

“The books are over there, I expect them to be dusted and re-shelved by 5:30,” her voice cut through the silence like a rusty blade, spooking some of students sitting at the far tables and sending some of the freshies scampering out the doors. Cassidy just nodded grimly and slid a hand into Ava’s, pulling her away into the shelves and towards the cart of books that needed re-shelving.

“Why exactly are you all afraid of her?” Ava’s voice was a little too loud for Cassidy’s liking, but this far back in the shelving, they were probably safe. 

“She’s been known to dish out weeks’ worth of detention at a time for the most random disturbances in her little kingdom. Not to mention that there’s no one stricter about the dress code and hall passes than her. She’s a nightmare when it comes to rule-breakers,” Cassidy explained in hushed tones.

“So, she’s the only one in this place that scares you?” Ava quirked an eyebrow over a thick history book as she slid it into place on the shelf. Her nose crinkled again like it had when she’d smiled earlier, and Cassidy though it looked cute. And not just her nose, Ava’s eyes sparkled softly in the afternoon light and her lips were fuller than most of the boys Cassidy had ever kissed…

“Cassidy?” Ava broke her out of the semi-daydream, bringing her back to the reality that was shoving boring textbooks back into place.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. She’s the only one that scares me, besides my big sister Liz. She can sometimes get away with scaring me, mostly cause she sounds a lot like my mom when she gets angry.” Cassidy was talking more comfortably with Ava than she did with most of her other popular friends, and it was relaxing, like taking a vacation from the snide comments on other people’s clothes or hair or all that other trivial shit. And it helped that Ava was pretty, even if her sense of fashion was terrible.

***

They’d been re-shelving for almost two hours. And there was nearly no one left in the library, just a few sophomores sitting at the far table, Ms. Orwell had gone off to make some photocopies and wouldn’t be back for at least ten minutes. Nearly all the books were set neatly back in there place, but Cassidy didn’t want Ava to leave, didn’t want their casual conversation to stop. She was enjoying herself, something she’d rarely ever done at this school.

“Well, that’s the last book. And it’s not even 5:00, Ms. Orwell won’t have anything to complain about,” said Ava as she slid the final book into place. She sent a smile over her shoulder to Cassidy and suddenly something hit her.

“Don’t leave yet, please.” The words just sort of tumbled out in an awkward fashion that was so new to Cassidy, who was always put together-and always knew how to pick her words just right. Ava turned towards her.

“I don’t leave until 6, remember? My dad picks me up then,” she reassured Cassidy, a soft smile spreading across her cheeks.

“Oh, right, I…” Cassidy stumbled over her words, something had changed in those few moments. The ease of the past two hours had suddenly turned into something charged, something that could shift very quickly from good to bad to very good, and Cassidy didn’t know which. She was terrified.

Ava didn’t seem to notice though and instead looped her arm through Cassidy’s, leading her through the library and out into the warm September air. Where Ava’s arm touched hers, the world was on fire. And the further they got from other people as they headed towards a bench behind the school, the worse the butterflies in Cassidy’s stomach became. 

Sitting down on the bench, Ava unlinked her arm, an action that made Cassidy feel a lot worse than it should have. 

“Ava, I…”

But the words were evading Cassidy again, she just couldn’t figure out what to say. She’d never felt like this before, not with her ‘friends’, not with the boys she’d kissed and gone around the bases with, not with anyone.

“Is everything okay? You seem a little… I don’t know… flustered, embarrassed?” Ava finally started to notice the panic that was swimming to the surface of Cassidy’s mind.

“No, no, I’m not embarrassed, why would I be embarrassed. No, Ava, I… just wanted to say, I think you’re…”

 _This was all coming out wrong, Ava was going to think she was weird and leave the bench. She didn’t know if she could do this. Gah, what was wrong with her? She’d kissed guys before, why should this be any different? Wait, kiss…_ Cassidy wasn’t even sure what was going on in her own mind and it was stressing her out worse than finals or her parents’ divorce. 

“You think I’m…what, Cassidy?” Ava was looking continuously more worried as Cassidy struggled to find the words.

“I think you’re gorgeous. There, I said it. You’re fucking beautiful, Ava. Ah, shoot, sorry, language…”

“You think I’m pretty? And that was freaking you out, why?” Ava was smirking just a little bit, the smile reaching her eyes and lighting them up in a way that made Cassidy’s butterflies turn into a snowstorm.

“I just, I’ve never felt this way before. Around anyone. You… you’re just different. In a good way, in a really good way.” _Where were these damn nerves coming from? If Ava had been a guy…Cassidy would have probably already been in the backseat of his car, pulling off his shirt._

“You don’t get nervous much, do you?” Ava kept teasing her, and Cassidy didn’t know how much longer she could take it. Ava’s eyebrows quirked up again and Cassidy was left speechless, stuttering as she tried to find the words to say. Naturally, Ava beat her to it.

“You don’t have to be nervous around me. Just pretend, do what you’d do if I was someone else, someone that didn’t make you nervous…just”

But Ava never got to finish her sentence, because Cassidy’s patience had run out. She leaned in, closing the space on the bench with ease-they had already been sitting thigh to thigh-and covered Ava’s lips with hers. 

The next few minutes felt like magic, because instead of drawing away and running like Cassidy had almost expected Ava to, she kissed her back. _And, boy, did they teach you how to kiss in France…_

Ava’s tongue slid past Cassidy’s lips and teeth with the same ease that Cassidy had covered the distance with. And unlike the boys that had kissed Cassidy, all rough and hot and with only one thing on their minds, Ava took her time, all soft and slow and…

The honk that broke them apart was jarring. Ava’s father was there to pick her up, and when he got out of the car, Cassidy nearly expected him to yell at her. To tell her to get the hell away from his daughter and hightail it back to wherever she came from. But he didn’t say any of that. Instead he just asked Cassidy if she liked lasagna and insisted that she join them for dinner. And Cassidy said yes, letting Ava slip her hand into Cassidy’s and lead her to the backseat of her father’s car. 


End file.
